I think your finished attempt looks great! I am so hit or miss with kitchener–sometimes I’m perfect & think myself a knitting genius! Lol. But most often my tension is not uniform & it looks wonky in a few spots. Bravo on your sock!

I love the reverse round heel! (I’m not sure if anyone else uses it, I read about it on a forum once) but for toe up socks you increase for a gusset, do a short row heel on the heel stitches (but not the gusset stitches) then work back and forth working decreases and turning as you hit the gusset stitches until they’re all used up! Then you just go on your merry way for the rest of the sock.

I like the top-down gusset heel flap b/c I have high arches, but I just got Lara Neel’s sock architecture book and am excited to try out some different ones. I do not like the fit of afterthought heels on me.

Stripey socks forevar! Yours looks great; I love the look of that heel.

I’m working on a pair of insanely bright striped handspun socks that were supposed to be for me, but since himself has commented on how great they’d look on his feet, they may end up with him. My socks are generally toe-up with a regular short row heel, though I keep experimenting to find a favourite fit. Looks like a copy of Sock Architecture is in my future, too.